Mariupol, formerly (1948–89) Zhdanov, city, southeastern Ukraine. It lies along the estuary of the Kalmius and Kalchik rivers, 6 miles (10 km) from the Sea of Azov.

Mariupol, Ukr.

Olegzima

The city was founded in 1778 as Pavlovsk, on the site of a former Cossack encampment. It was renamed Mariupol in 1779 to honour Maria Fyodorovna, the second wife of Crown Prince Paul. In 1780 the city’s population grew rapidly after a large number of Greeks from the Crimean Peninsula were resettled there. In 1882 it was connected by rail to the Donets Basin and developed as a major port for the region. The city was renamed Zhdanov in 1948 for Andrey Aleksandrovich Zhdanov, a recently deceased high-ranking Communist Party functionary who had been born there, though the city’s earlier name was restored in 1989.

Modern Mariupol’s exports have included coal, steel, machinery, and grain. It is the base of a fishing fleet, and a dredged channel leads to the open sea. Mariupol has large iron- and steelworks and associated coke-chemical and machine-building works; other industries have included ship repairing, fish canning, and flour milling. The city also has a metallurgical institute. Pop. (2014 est.) 480,406.

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